Re: Council get something right!!
 

I don't think your point about the newspapers is right

Re: Council get something right!!
 

I have learned more about local government in this thread than ever in my life before.
I value the passion and honesty that you show Graham.......I wish there were some national politicians who would tell it like it is......instead of feeding us the homogenised pap that they think we want to hear. If that were the case, I wouldn't be in such a quandary about voting in the national elections due in May.

Re: Council get something right!!
 

Re: Council get something right!!
 

There are 8 laptops, 4 each [Lab-Con]. I object. They are not a priority. Some older desktops would have done given the financial crises. The govt [our govt] is pushing all councillors to be e-enabled!! The recent report was that this should be rolled out to all 35 [in line with gov 'target'!] but savings would have to found. I don't have one.

So many important tings have gone unreported yet when ever PB speaks it gets printed. About 4 months ago the council realised it ws spending money twice and had run up a double spend of £484,000. They had to borrow that money to pay off the short term debt. When PB blamed Labour for bills in the bottom drawer [an excuse bordering on a lie] in 2003 with the £1.8m overspend he said words like 'under us.. under control.. public could trust.. getting hold of situation...financial responsibilty...strategies..safeguards... etc' and it was all reported. However 12 months on a half a million is mispent [AGAIN!] and how column inches did it make. At that meeting PB got another populist topic put on the agenda and so it goes on.

The wardens. The press keep reporting a shortfall in govt funding. No its not. Thats a lie. PB says the govt has short changed the councl. Year on year grants above inflation have left the council cash rich. Since 1999 the goverment increases are +36%. Inflation is about 20%. And in 2003 Housing Benefit payments were altered and that benefited us by 500,000, [of £8m - so about another 6% on top of 36%].

Rate rise have been above inflation as well. This year 5% [Tory], last year 3.9 [Tory], the year before [Lab] 3.9 including 1% national insurance that year!, the year before 7.9% [Tory] the year before that 0% [Tory] the year before that 4%? [Tory]

What was reported a lot by the press was this years govt grant. Shortchanged ran the headline. The govt had reset the funding formula and under the new one [compared to what we would have got with the old one] we lost £400,000. PB said - printed by the press - the govt had sold Hyndburn down the river. Well the governments grant AFTER this recalculation was still an overall increase of some 6.2%. It would have been 12% with it. So hows HBC getting a bad deal PB? And why are the papers not reporting the events accurately?

Re: Council get something right!!
 

I have made comments several times in other threads concerning the apparent contradictions in funding and basic arithmetic committed by the Idiot in Chief.
Now do you believe me!

Re: Council get something right!!
 

Re: Council get something right!!
 

I haven't posted here before, but I had to comment on some of Coun Jones' comments made earlier about the state of the press.

Re: Council get something right!!
 

Re: Council get something right!!
 

Re: Council get something right!!
 

Re: Council get something right!!
 

While it is true that each and every newspaper has some sort of political bias, and often an agenda on certain issues, to tar the press with the same, sweeping brush is just wrong. As a regular attendee of council meetings across East Lancashire, I am aware that the local press are one of the only groups that do make an effort to attend as many meetings as they can. Radio stations, for instance, do not, and tend to cobble together news reports from the local press, meaning 'facts' can become even more debatable.
On the whole, the press must report the general 'feeling' of a council meeing, or a local issue. Often this seems to be done by guaging people's reaction to issues through monitoring the letters page, or responding to phone calls. But much is done through attending council meetings.
Despite many people's views on PB, it has to be admitted by all that when the leader of a local council comments on an issue, it will generate more interest than when a backbencher speaks. This is unfortunate, but unnavoidable. However it is also a newspaper's job to highlight issues where the counci has gone wrong. A quick search of the LET's archive of neighborhood warden stories, for instance, will show that PB has never been given an easy ride. And just look at the Accy Ob's recent storys on the Panopticons.
My advice would be to keep up the comments on this site, but to add to their weight by writing letters, making phone calls and attending meetings. Imagine if just 20 members of the public attended each council meeting, as is their right!

Re: Council get something right!!
 

Re: Council get something right!!
 

Simply as a member of the public, but a member of the public who likes to keep on top of things. I like to know what I'm voting for!
I'm sure I don't get to enough meetings, but every little helps.
After having been on the town centre walk last year, and seeing that more council staff were present than members of the public, it's an issue close to my heart.

Re: Council get something right!!
 

Re: Council get something right!!
 

I think Dillon is right. I found stuff on the LET archive while researching politcal bias in the local press for my history A-level (I wanted to compare the present situation to that in the 1930s) which would suggest that the paper has given Britcliffe a hard time. It was the only paper to report Labour things on a number of occasions, and the only one to cover the court case of PB's (now late) ex-partner. I am interested to hear people's experiences of being covered by the media, though